Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey : the Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

The real-life inspiration and setting for the Emmy Award-winning Downton Abbey, Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.

Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war. Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Cora Crawley, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home. Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman.

This rich tale contrasts the splendor of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War and offers an inspiring and revealing picture of the woman at the center of the history of Highclere Castle.

Baker & TaylorExamines the life of Lady Almina, the fifth Countess of Carnarvon, and the events in Highclere Castle during the First World War.

A fan of the Downton Abbey series, I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. Similar to the series, the real residents had similar experiences. If you are interested in history there's a focus on WW 1, people's experiences, and politics at the time. Almina is a whirlwind of energy, improving nursing and hospital processes in WW1, using her own money and influence. They are the very same Carnavon's who found Tutankhamen's tomb. A good read.

More suitable for social historians than DA fans. Yes, it is the same building, but the book's focus is WWI and name dropping. The book reads as if the current Countess has looked at the guest books, the household accounts, a few letters, and the surviving journals, then made up a plausible story from them--sort of like a Great Aunt recounting her glory days while thumbing through her diary. Several history teachers I know would really like the name dropping and hospital parts.

Thoroughly enjoyed this true story that has many similarities with Downton Abbey. I loved that this was written by the current Countess of Carnarvon, about one of the past Countesses. I found the Countess's voice very easy to read, and she made what could've been a dry story interesting and engaging. I will definitely read the next book in the series, about Lady Catherine one of the subsequent countesses.

Good read. Well researched book about the life of a privileged wealthy woman in the first half of the twentieth century. There was just too much detail about the Second World War. The constant lists of battles and who fought in them got to me. I skipped a couple of chapters to the end of the war. The rest was good.

The fans of Downton Abbey will enjoy the real history of Highclere Castle. Added bonus is learning the role Earl Of Carnavon played in excavating Tutankhamun's tomb. It's set me on a quest for other books about King Tut. Enjoy!

I can see where Julian Fellowes got his inspiration for story ideas for his Downton Abbey TV series after reading this short biography of Lady Almina, the Countess of Carnarvon. She lived in Downton Abbey during the early 1900's to 1922 with her husband, the famous Earl of Carnavon who financed Howard Carter's Egyptian discoveries. Unfortunately, her life story in this book stops after the death of her husband in 1922 when her son became the next Earl of Carnarvon and she thus had to move out of Downton Abbey, the family home. I took the book out because I was curious to see why Alfred Rothchild's daughter was chosen as a bride by the Earl of Carnarvon and how she would be accepted by his peers. There is a great deal of name dropping and descriptions of the parties given and gone to and monies spent on these entertainments as well as other endeavors such her work in hospitals during WWI. The photos add interest to the story but really are as informative as looking at one's own pics of relatives of that time period and wondering who they were. I found myself scanning over the paragraphs with descriptions of the war effort but read those which described her family members' involvement. I found the book informative. Now I am interested in visiting Downton Abbey just see what 1900 silk on the walls looks like 110 years later!